Cultural outings organised by the association in 2022
Tuesday 13 December 2022
A day in Paris:
Bibliothèque nationale de France – Richelieu site
After twelve years of renovation work, the Richelieu site is opening all its refurbished spaces to the public.
Guided tour of the new museum. Spread across seven themed rooms, the museum’s encyclopaedic collections blend the written record, the world of images and artefacts.
Visit to the temporary exhibition “Molière, the interplay of truth and fiction”. To mark the 400th anniversary of Molière’s birth, the BnF and the Comédie-Française are presenting works of art, first editions, costumes, photographs and audiovisual materials.
Explore the Salle Ovale, where you’ll have free access to nearly 6,000 books on the history of the arts and heritage, 9,000 comic books, digital resources, journals, and audio, video and multimedia content.
Thursday 8 December 2022
Lives and works
The Antoine Vivenel Museum, the Reading Resource Centre and photographer Marc Mounier Kuhn invite you to explore the connections between past and present, between societies of yesteryear and the contemporary world.
The exhibition offers a chance to rediscover remarkable pieces from the Antoine Vivenel Museum, reinterpreted by the photographer and learners from the Reading Resource Centre. But the artistic project has also been extended to the façades of buildings in the Pompidou and Royallieu neighbourhoods in the form of monumental photographic collages.
Presented by Delphine Jeannot, Director of the Compiègne Museums, this free tour has been organised especially for the Friends.
Tuesday 15 November 2022
Art Deco in Saint-Quentin
In the aftermath of the Great War, Saint-Quentin rose to the challenge of reconstruction. As you stroll through the streets, the Art Deco style can be seen throughout the public buildings, shops and homes, forming the city’s iconic heritage.
▪ Guided walking tour to discover the main Art Deco monuments and façades;
▪ Guided tour of the Palais de l’Art Déco, formerly the Nouvelles Galeries building, a major work of interwar architecture;
▪ Guided tour of the Buffet de la Gare, which preserves the creations of master glassmaker and mosaicist Auguste Labouret. Listed as a Historic Monument;
▪ Guided tour of the Casino, opened in 1929, a former cinema and music hall that has recently been restored.
Wednesday 28 September 2022
Francières, Saint-Martin-aux-Bois, Rémy
In the morning, a guided tour of the Francières Sugar Factory, a testament to the industrial, technological and human activity of our region.
The sugar factory buildings have been enhanced with an interpretation centre dedicated to the sugar industry and an exploration of agro-industries.
In the afternoon, a guided tour of the Abbey Church of Saint-Martin-aux-Bois. A structure of stone and glass, the chevet has recently been restored.
The church boasts impressive stained-glass windows, as well as a magnificent set of choir stalls with flamboyant Gothic decoration, and a 15th-century mural discovered in 2004.
On the way back, we will visit the Church of Saint-Denis in Rémy, a church with a remarkable yet little-known heritage: twenty-six mid-16th-century choir stalls and nine stained-glass windows, created by Abbé Deligny in an original artistic style (cf: the stained-glass windows of Jonquières).
You will also discover the remarkable story of the restoration of the church’s stained-glass windows, made possible by an American association.
Friday 10 June 2022 at 10am
Visit to the exhibition “Ivoire, Ivoires”
at the Centre Antoine Vivenel
17 Rue James de Rothschild (Parc de Songeons)
The exhibition traces the journeys and reveals the interpretations of a noble, rare, exotic, refined and imperishable material—a symbol of power and wealth—which has been used to create ritual, decorative and utilitarian objects that have left their mark on the history of art and craftsmanship worldwide.
The works from the Antoine Vivenel Museum’s extensive collections, supplemented by loans from renowned museums, span the period from the 9th to the 19th century.
Presented by Delphine Jeannot, Director of the Compiègne Museums, this free tour has been organised especially for Friends.
Thursday 28 April 2022
A day in Paris
Visit to the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Senate
Morning:
Visit tothe Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Founded during the reign of Childebert I on the advice of Germain, Bishop of Paris, in the heart of the district of the same name, it is considered to be the oldest church in Paris.
Despite alterations over the years, it has retained its original features, giving it an unmistakably Romanesque appearance.
Recent restoration work has enhanced the paintings on the vaults and in the choir of this venerable church.
Lunch at the restaurant ‘Le Bouillon Racine’, founded in 1906 by the Chartier brothers. Built in the Art Nouveau style, it is a listed historic monument.
Afternoon:
Visit to the Senate.
The Palais du Luxembourg was built from 1615 onwards for Marie de Médicis by the architect Salomon de Brosse, modelled on Tuscan palaces.
Successively a princely residence, a prison during the Revolution, the Chamber of Peers during the Restoration, and the current seat of the Senate since the Fifth Republic, it houses an exceptional artistic heritage.
We were welcomed by Laurence Rossignol, Vice-President of the Senate, thanks to whom we were granted access to the chamber for a very interesting presentation on the functioning and powers of the Senate.
Wednesday 16 March 2022
A day in Médan and Marly-le-Roi
Morning:
Guided tour of the Maison Zola in Médan, followed by a self-guided visit to the Dreyfus Museum.
The home where Émile Zola lived and wrote for nearly 25 years, this residence allows us to share in the private life of the novelist and the author of ‘J’accuse’. The conviction of Captain Dreyfus marked Zola’s commitment and bound the fates of these two men together.
Housed in an outbuilding of the Maison Zola, the Dreyfus Museum invites visitors to rediscover the roots of the Dreyfus affair and to reflect on its relevance today.
Afternoon:
guided tour of the Royal Estate of Marly.
The château and its twelve pavilions were built to serve as Louis XIV’s country residence, a place of leisure where he would spend weekends surrounded by guests and favoured courtiers. The museum’s collections tell the story of the buildings, the Marly waterworks, the royal stays under Louis XIV and then Louis XV, as well as the vicissitudes of this estate, which was destroyed in the 19th century.
